To fulfill one of theSummit’s core values and obligations to the industry, which is to provide the highest quality education and training, the Food Safety & Security Summit has created the Executive Educational Advisory Council (EEAC). The EEAC consists of industry-leading processors, retailers, consultants, educators, food service and government professionals representing each of the food safety, security and supply-chain disciplines.

Through the support of these industry-leading processors, retailers, consultants, educators, foodservice and government professionals, the Summit is able to provide an unequalled educational program representing each of the food safety, security and supply chain disciplines.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Gary Ades, President,
G& L Consulting Group, LLC
Gary Ades is President of G&L Consulting Group, L.L.C.  He is an experienced food professional having worked in the technical, manufacturing and marketing areas of the Food and Food Service industry. Ades provides Food Safety, Quality Assurance and Product Planning assistance to his clients. Prior to his current position, he held senior level positions with Wal-Mart, Foster Farms and Tasty Baking Company as well as with Arthur D. Little (ADL) and Technomic. He has also been a principal with Marketing Spectrum and Technical Food Information Spectrum (TFIS). He is a member of numerous organizations and serves on advisory committees such as the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF), the Conference for Food Protection and Food Quality magazine.

Peggy Cook, PhD, Vice President/Chief Scientific Officer,
Safe Foods Corporation
Dr. Peggy Cook is Vice President/Chief Scientific Officer with Safe Foods Corporation.   Prior to Safe Foods, Dr. Cook was the director and managed the ISO 9001-2000 certification and the A2LA 17025 accreditation of Tyson’s Springdale food safety laboratories.  Dr. Cook is also a tenured member of the USDA/FSIS National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF), Washington, DC.  

David Cudmore, Special Agent,
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Special Agent (SA) David Cudmore serves as the FBI Kansas City Office Weapons of Mass Destruction Coordinator and investigator on the Joint Terrorism Task Force. SA Cudmore is a member of the Division SWAT Team.  He has extensive knowledge and experience in the FBI's response involving agriculture and food related threats.  He has made numerous national and international level presentations on this topic and has testified at congressional hearings on WMD related issues.  SA Cudmore was the conference planner and organizer for the FBI's International Symposium on Agro terrorism held in Kansas City in 2005 and 2006.  SA Cudmore has a degree in Microbiology from the University of Nebraska and served 6 years on active duty in the United States Army as a Nuclear Biological Chemical Officer.  He has instructed on all levels of hazardous material response to include awareness, operational, technician, specialist and incident command levels.

Clay Detlefsen, Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and General Counsel, International Dairy Foods Association
Clay Detlefsen is the Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and General Counsel for the International Dairy Foods Association. His work focuses on FDA issues and bioterrorism concerns. As a result of a presidentially mandated partnership between the government and private sector, Mr. Detlefsen is engaged in numerous national security activities and is co-chair to the Food and Agricultural Sector Coordinating Council.

Mark Dopp General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs American Meat Institute
Dopp became AMI's outside general counsel in May 1995. In 1999, he formally joined the Institute and assumed responsibility for AMI's regulatory affairs activities. In that role, Dopp oversees policy development and research and represents industry views to government officials on all major regulatory initiatives. He also provides legal counsel to AMI. Prior to joining AMI, Dopp worked at Hogan and Hartson, where he was active in areas of food and agricultural law on behalf of many clients, including domestic and foreign corporations. Dopp served in USDA's Office of the General Counsel before entering private practice in 1985. He joined Hogan and Hartson in 1989 as an associate and in January 1993 became a partner. Dopp received his Bachelor of Arts in agricultural economics from the University of Wisconsin and his Master of Science from Michigan State University in 1981, also in agricultural economics. He received his law degree in 1984 from the University of Missouri.

Susan Forsell, Vice President of Quality systems, Supply Chain Management,
McDonald’s, USA
Susan Forsell is responsible for leading the development and implementation of McDonald’s quality assurance and food safety policies and practices.  She is also responsible for managing the McDonald’s Sensory Quality Center as well as supporting new product development and product improvement initiatives. Prior to her current role, she served as Senior Director of U.S. Quality Systems where she played a key role in maintaining McDonald’s world-class quality standards across McDonald’s U.S. system.

Jane Griffith, Director of Quality Assurance and Food Safety,
Wawa
Jane Griffith is the Director of Quality Assurance and Food Safety for Wawa, Inc. She is a member of Council 1 with the Conference for Food Protection, Product Surety Committee and the NJ Biosecurity Task Force. She has a Master of Education and MBA from Pennsylvania State University. Jane is active in Quality Assurance Executive Committees for the National Restaurant Association, International Food Technologist and Daymon Strategic Sourcing.

Jane’s QA Team is responsible for food safety and product quality throughout the supply chain from vendor selection, certification and management to execution of foodservice programs at store level. She oversees the QA operation of key partners including the WBC, Bakery, NJ Distribution Center, and the Fresh Express – Commissary operations.

Jeff Kornacki, President and Senior Technical Director,
Kornacki Microbiology Solutions
Jeff Kornacki obtained a B.S. (Bacteriology), M.S. and Ph.D. (Food Science Department) from UW- Madison.  He worked for Schreiber Foods from 1985-1989 researching starter cultures, cheese ripening, and ultra filtration technology.  Twelve succeeding years were spent microbiological troubleshooting (over 400 factories), technical writing and editing, and laboratory management with Silliker Laboratories.  He was Assistant Professor at the University of Georgia's Center for Food Safety & Department of Food Science April 2001-2003 and is currently President and Senior Technical Director, Kornacki Microbiology Solutions.  He remains adjunct faculty at UGA and also at Michigan State's National Center for Food Safety & Toxicology.

Ranzell “Nick” Nickelson II, Ph.D., Chief Executive for Science and Health, Standard Meat
Nickelson previously held executive positions with a number of national food companies, including Tyson Food Service, Foodbrands, America Inc., and KPR Foods Inc. In addition, he has vast experience in the field of education, including positions as Professor and Associate Professor at Texas A&M University. A retired colonel in the United States Army Reserve, Nickelson had a long and distinguished military career. Nickelson’s professional accreditations, memberships and publishing contributions are numerous and his dedication to advancing the policies and practices of the food safety industry unparalleled.

Alan Plassche BP Partners
Alan is the co-founder of BP Partners, publisher of Foodsafety Insights, reaching 100,000 foodservice operators and consultants to NSF International, the National Restaurant Association, and other food industry clients. Alan's career experience included President of General Foods Foodservice Division, Chairman of the Culinary Institiute of America, COO of Canteen Corporation, and CEO of UniPro Independent Distributors.

Michael C. Robach, Vice President, Corporate Food Safety and Regulatory Affairs, Cargill
Mike Robach joined Cargill in January of 2004 to lead the company’s global food safety and regulatory affairs programs.  In this role he leads Cargill’s corporate efforts across food safety, regulatory compliance, animal health, and quality assurance.  Mike started out his career with Monsanto Company.  Prior to joining Cargill, he headed up technical services for Wayne Farms LLC.  Mike is a graduate of Michigan State University and of Virginia Tech.  

Gary Smith, Ph.D., University Distinguished Professor, Department of Animal Sciences, Colorado State University
Gary C. Smith occupied the Ken and Myra Monfort Endowed Chair in Meat Science at Colorado State University in June 1990. Previously, he served as professor (1969-1982) and head (1982-1990) of the Department of Animal Science at Texas A&M University, where he won the Outstanding Teaching Performance Award, the Honor Professor Award, the College of Agriculture Teaching Award, the University Distinguished Teaching Award, and The Deputy Chancellor’s Award for Team Research. Dr. Smith has served on a wide variety of industry boards, and in advisory capacity to many industry groups, including the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection for FSIS-USDA. Smith has also been a member of the Animal Production HACCP Technical Advisory Group for FSIS-USDA and the Committee for the National Beef Tenderness Plan of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

He is presently a member of the U.S. Technical Advisory Group for International Organization for Standardization (ISO-9000) Meat and Meat Products Quality Standards for AMSUSDA. Smith’s research interests include red meat safety, carcass evaluation and grading; composition, quality and palatability of red meat; and packaging and retailing of red meat.

Mike Starnes, Vice President of Food Safety, Quality Assurance, 
Brand Standards And Facilities And Remodels, Denny’s Corporation
Mike Starnes is vice president of food safety, Quality Assurance, Brand Standards and Facilities and Remodels for Denny’s Corp., formerly Advantica Restaurant Group Inc. Starnes is charged with maintaining and implementing Denny’s brand standards/HACCP manual, which outlines all food handling, preparation, cleanliness, sanitation, regulatory practices and service that are HACCP certified. The company’s Food Safety/HACCP program was recognized nationally in 1994 at NEHA’s 58th Annual Educational Conference. In 1999 and 2005, the program was further recognized by industry peers as a “best practice” at the NRA QA Executive Study Group.

Donald L. Zink, PhD, Senior Food Scientist,
CFSAN/FDA